


Spin the Bottle, Kiss the Boy

by bedwyrssong



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Relationships, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 07:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4867670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bedwyrssong/pseuds/bedwyrssong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At a work party, Thomas joins the younger employees in a game of Spin the Bottle. It may be a big mistake, or one of the best decisions of his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spin the Bottle, Kiss the Boy

**Author's Note:**

> A belated fill for Day One of Thommy Week, the prompt being, of course, "Spin the bottle."

The staff party had gotten out of hand—or at least, out of the hands of its hosts—and been taken over by the younger employees. Which was, in Thomas’s experience, something that tended to happen at parties. In the far corner, Daisy, Ivy, William, Alfred, Gwen, and Jimmy had formed a circle on the floor and were starting a game of Spin the Bottle.

Mr Carson sighed in an exaggerated manner. “And this, Elsie, is why I was against serving alcohol.”

“Please, dear, they’re not _drunk_ ,” his wife scolded. “Just young. Let them have their fun. If you don’t want to watch, then go to bed. I’ll stay up.”

“That is exactly what I plan to do,” he said, drawing himself up and casting a disapproving glance about the room before making his exit.

Mrs Patmore was already snoring in her chair, the effect of too much whiskey and chocolate cupcakes, and Thomas suddenly became uncomfortably aware that he was in the part of the room occupied by the _old people_. There were more guests his age earlier, and there’d even been talk of a card game, but then John Bates complained of fatigue and Anna, who was organizing the game, had to drive him home; not long after, Tom Branson also left, probably for a late-night rendezvous with Sybil Crawley.

Determined not to stay entirely disengaged from the action, he edged towards the group in the corner, nursing his beer and trying to look casual.

“Hey! Thomas,” Jimmy said, turning a bright face up towards him. “Want to play?”

Jimmy was the newest employee at Downton Abbey, Ripon’s premiere hotel, and utterly gorgeous, the kind of beauty who made you stop dead in your tracks and gape. Which was exactly what Thomas had done the first time he saw him (along with half of the female staff). He must have looked like a bloody fool, yet Jimmy took a liking to him regardless, spending more time with him at work than he did with anyone else.

“When are you going to stop fawning and get that boy into your bed?” Daisy asked one night when he popped into the kitchen.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“ _Please_ , Thomas, anyone can see the way you look at each other.”

He frowned. “I don’t even know if he likes men, Daisy.”

“Thomas, he’s far too _pretty_ to be straight.”

“He wouldn’t thank you for saying that,” Thomas said. He’d already noticed that Jimmy was a bit touchy about his looks and daintiness, always taking any opportunity to assert his masculinity. “Besides, y’know, you’ve even worse gaydar than I do.”

At that, she had brandished a spatula and chased him out of the kitchen.

Now, Jimmy sat looking at him expectantly, waiting for his answer. This might prove to be a stupid decision, but Thomas found, looking at that face, that he couldn’t say no. Later, he could blame the alcohol.

“Sure,” he said, taking a seat between Jimmy and Daisy. “I’m in.”

“Great,” Alfred groaned. “Now there’s more blokes than girls. Can’t end well.”

Jimmy glared at him. “Will you quit yer whinin’? Nobody’s gonna make you do anything you don’t want to. Now, who’s going to take the first spin?”

“I will!” chirped Ivy, and suddenly Alfred’s pout was gone, and all his attention was on her hands as they reached inside the circle and spun the bottle. Thomas supposed Alfred was sweet on her; he knew most of the people in the group had had crushes on each other at one time or another—except for Gwen, who said she didn’t do work relationships and refused to talk about her private life at all—yet Thomas couldn’t ever seem to keep the tangle straight. Again he felt old.

The bottle did not land on Alfred, which made him glower, but instead on William. He and Ivy shared a short, chaste peck, which Jimmy, Gwen, and Daisy booed as a very poor showing. Several turns passed, but the bottle never landed on Thomas, which he was grateful for; when it came down to it, he really didn’t fancy kissing much of anyone in the circle, except perhaps for Jimmy, and even that would have felt like taking advantage of the situation. Daisy’s spin resulted in her and Ivy kissing, which made the other blokes whistle. Then, finally, it was Thomas’s turn.

He reached out, took a deep breath, and spun.

The bottle made one full rotation and kept on, going around almost another 360 degrees until it stilled, it neck pointing towards—

“Is that Jimmy or Gwen?” someone asked.

“It’s me,” Jimmy breathed.

Thomas looked at him, noticed the slight worrying of his lip, the solemn intensity of his gaze.

“Remember what you said to Alfred. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” he whispered, quiet enough so that only Jimmy could hear him.

The younger man swallowed before he could manage a smirk. “But y’see, I want to.”

Suddenly, he was leaning over, and his lips were on Thomas’s, forceful, passionate, fighting for Thomas to open his mouth, with the sort of aching desperation Thomas hadn’t felt since he was a teenager. He let himself melt into the kiss, something else he hadn’t done in years, and reached up to cup Jimmy’s cheek. He was dimly aware of Daisy emitting a short squeal in the background, followed by some tittering, probably from her and Ivy. The other lads were likely feeling uncomfortable, but at the moment, Thomas didn’t much care.

When Jimmy finally released him, Thomas was breathing heavily.

“I’ve been wantin’ to do that for a long time,” Jimmy said. He looked somehow exhausted and sated at the same time.

“Christ,” Thomas whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> [I'm also on Tumblr!](http://bedwyrssong.tumblr.com/)


End file.
